Eskara Carrian
Background Very little is known about Eskara's past. She keeps her secrets close. She herself has no idea which nation she originates from and so has no loyalty to any. Although she has carried out various jobs for various gangs she also has never been a member of any in particular. Filling In the Blanks Eskara's earliest memories were of constant movement. Either the movement of her parent's caravan as they traversed the long roads between shows or the dancing lights and twirl of ribbons as she watched her mother’s performances from behind the heavy curtain. Even her father’s strange jerks and wriggles as he manipulated the locks and chains that bound him. By the age of five she had added her own movement, copying both her parents with a skill that far surpassed her years. Constantly following in her shadow were a smaller set of footsteps. Her little sister, Belladonna, had been born with autism making it hard for her in among the hustle and bustle of the circus. The only way she dared venture beyond their own caravan was with Eskara close at hand to fend off those who got too close. The elder by three years, Eskara was fiercely protective of little Bella and had been known to draw a small knife on any who could not be easily warned off. Such a knife was taken off her many times and put somewhere safe and out of her reach but somehow she always managed to get it back. The sister’s favourite game was their own version of hide and seek. Eskara would hide in the most convoluted places she could. The only hints Bella would get were the small blooms of her namesake. These she would follow to discover Eskara’s hiding spot. Life trundled on like the wheels of their wagon until one night when it was all ripped apart. They had arrived earlier that day into Cabra. Tomorrow would see the big top raised but tonight they rested, many of the men enjoying the local brew. Maybe too much of the local brew. As they lay asleep or passed out a single forgotten lamp set fire to a curtain. The blaze spread quickly until the whole camp was alight. It was reported in local papers that none survived but this wasn’t true. Two had. There are very few ways for two young children to survive on the streets. Especially with little or no knowledge of where they are. Most would probably die but most seven year olds couldn’t pick a disk tumbler lock in under thirty seconds. Three year old Bella stuck to her heels, the world around her offered nothing but new sources of fear and her only way to stay in any near calm state was to keep her one constant within site. However, Eskara lacked caution and within days she had attracted unwanted attention. Having zero knowledge of electronic security systems they were caught on camera and became trapped as the house Eskara had broken into went into lockdown. Police arrived and what followed was the first of many eventful experiences in police stations. Separated the sisters were less that co-operative to say the least. Bella just screamed if any of the police came near her resulting in them totally giving up and leaving her alone in a small cell. The slightly older Eskara wasn’t that lucky. For hours they interrogated her as to who had sent her to the mayor's house. Any answer she gave was discounted as lies. They refused to believe she didn’t know. Especially as they had discovered her little knife among her things. When they thought the had finally broken her they made their mistake. They left her alone in a cell with a small bowl of food, and, more importantly, with a flimsy and easily bendable spoon. It took her next to no time to get them both out. Laying her hands on a new knife took a little longer. Escaping the station when you are two small children was easy. They just walked out. After that they got out of Cabra as soon as Eskara could afford the fare. For a few more years they kept this up. Taking what they needed then leaving town. Gradually as Eskara’s skill increased the number of times they were caught dropped until it was Eskara’s last time behind police bars. Eskara was nine and had just begun to take on jobs from some of the local gangs. They paid well and usually didn’t try and interfere with either her or Bella. It was a simple job and would have gone smoothly had not the guard decided to take a different route to that Eskara had observed every day for the last two weeks. She was trapped. The big man laid into her with his fists breaking many a bone in her fragile body, however, in his haste to apprehend Eskara he didn’t see little Bella. Armed with Eskara’s knife she pounced at the man’s legs screaming and stabbing at random. Too weak to move Eskara passed out seeing no more. When she did wake she was handcuffed to a hospital gurney in the back of an ambulance. On the gurney next to her was the obviously dead body of the guard. Bella was nowhere to be seen. As soon as Eskara was able to she escaped her captors she went in search of her sister. There is no sign. In desperation she began a game played across the entire world using the media to plant her clues. At each theft she left a flower and so the Shade was born. Personality It is very likely that Eskara suffers from some level of kleptomania. Although she can resist the urge to steal she doesn't bother if she thinks she can get away with it. Generally she prefers to work alone having little or no trust in others. However, she is pragmatic enough to know that sometimes she needs the help. Even so she is unlikely to give away much about herself and will generally have a back up plan so that she comes out on top of any situation. In contrast to her generally cautious character she has a reckless streak and a dangerous habit to follow her curiosity no matter of the cost. Although generally she acts much older than her years, she will, at times, revert to certain acts of childishness. This is generally when she is actually at least slightly relaxed and so happens rarely. Criminal History A career criminal from an early age, Eskara quickly established a reputation for the successful theft of items deemed un-stealable. Each was marked by a single bloom of deadly nightshade left in place of the missing item. Most were crimes she was hired to commit although many others were merely to satisfy her curiosity or prove a point. Luckily for Eskara, no-one had made the connection between her and her crimes. This has already begun to change now she is among The Dark Avengers . Selection of Major Crimes Attributed to The Shade Custodis um... well....later Powers 'Polydimensional Duplicate' Eskara's powers are weird and dangerous. She is capable of moving between the 'real' world and the 'wraith' world, an interdimension plane known as the Warp. Whilst in the Warp, Eskara can see people in the real world but cannot interact with them. Whenever she teleports to the Warp, she can choose to leave behind a duplicate of herself, a decoy which tricks people into firing at her clone - those who attack it in melee have a 50% chance of being sucked into the Warp themselves, killing them instantly. Others will merely be distracted, allowing her to disappear or come up behind them for an ambush! This duplicate can last for as long as Eskara chooses to remain in the Warp. Eskara can also create duplicates of other objects, though anything bigger than a dog is impossible currently to manifest. These duplicates look and (if they're alive) act like the real thing - when touched, they carry the same risk of sucking their victim into the warp, be they friend or foe. 'Precognition' A different form to the standard telepathy seen by Jack Watermaine or Moriarty, time exists differently in the Warp - Eskara, whilst there, can get a brief glance of small things to come, such as combat moves or enemy tactics. After return from a trip to the warp, Eskara's melee attack and defence are increased by +10 for three turns. 'Demonic Infestation' The Warp is a dangerous place, full of demons and other manifestations of terror - it is believed that the Warp was actually Whiro's prison, when the Titans first turned against him during the eve of the Eternity War. Eskara can spend one turn in the Warp without suffering damage, but every turn after that, she suffers one level of injury. In addition, when she duplicates other objects (not herself) there is a very small chance that the duplicate will be used as a gateway for a demon to enter the material realm, summoning it to the real world where it will violently and obsessively chase Eskara down and attempt to drag her back to the Warp. Category:Dark Avengers